Al Arabiya English
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Type of site | News website |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Owner | MBC Group (Saudi Arabian Government (60%); Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim (40%)) |
| Editor | Mamdouh Almuhaini |
| Parent | Al Arabiya Network |
| URL | english |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | No |
| Current status | Online |
Al Arabiya English is the English language service of the Saudi state-owned Al-Arabiya News Channel.
Foundation and early days[edit]
Al-Arabiya English launched in 2007.[1] In its first few years, the website carried wire news and selected translated articles from Al Arabiya's main Arabic language news site.
In November 2013, the site was relaunched with a new design that provided captioned and searchable news clips from the main Al Arabiya news channel.
Staffing[edit]
In July 2012, Faisal J. Abbas, a Huffington Post blogger, Middle East correspondent and former media editor of London-based daily Asharq Al Awsat, was appointed editor-in-chief of its the Al Arabiya English Service. He held the role until 2016.[2] Commenting on the appointment, Abdul Rahman al-Rashed, then General Manager of the channel said: “Faisal is among the most distinguished young journalists and it is a pleasure to have him on-board to continue taking the website forward.”[3]
In 2019, Mohammed Alyahya assumed the role of editor-in-chief. Alyaha oversaw a comprehensive restructuring of the operation and a revamp of its website.[4]
A number of editors were brought in to manage the service independently, including American journalist Courtney Radsch[5] and Pranay Gupte,[6] who served from 2011 from 2012.
Saudi columnist Mamdouh Almuhaini was appointed as general manager of Al Arabiya Network in October 2019. Before that, he was appointed on 27 September 2017 as the editor-in-chief of all of Al Arabiya's digital platforms, which include the English, Arabic, Urdu and Persian websites.[7] He is renowned for managing the coverage of the Donald Trump election, the Qatar diplomatic crisis as well as many other various projects[citation needed].[tone]
In 2024, Al Arabiya contracted Riz Khan as a host, who formerly hosted for BBC and CNN.[8][9][10]
Criticism[edit]
In 2012, Al Arabiya English published a series of stories discussing leaked emails belonging to Sherri Jaafari, the daughter of Syria's UN envoy Bashar Jaafari. The leaked emails showed Sherri requesting an internship with US television host Charlie Rose in exchange for securing an interview with President Assad. Furthermore, the emails revealed how Sherri worked with NY-based public relations company BLJ to produce a 2011 Vogue magazine feature about Asma al-Assad, the Syrian leader's wife, which labelled her a "rose in the desert" while Syria was undergoing a civil war.[3] Al Arabiya English's stories were carried by a number of US media outlets, including the New York Post[11] and The Huffington Post.[12] In response, Syria's UN envoy urged the media to leave his family alone.[13]
Following an op-ed published in March 2015[14] calling for President Barack Obama to "listen to [Israeli PM] Netanyahu" regarding the Iranian nuclear deal,[14] many Arab, Iranian and even Western media outlets criticized Al Arabiya English's editorial stance. Based on this op-ed, the London Independent journalist Robert Fisk wrote that the column, which was written by Al Arabiya English's editor-in-chief at the time, would not have been published unless it was blessed by the Saudi monarchy.[15]
References[edit]
- ^ Löhr, Nadine. "About Al Arabiya" (PDF).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Faisal J. Abbas appointed editor-in-chief of Arab News". Arab News. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Al Arabiya obtains new leaked emails of Assad's New York-based media advisor". Al Arabiya English. 23 July 2012. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ "Mohammed Alyahya, Former Editor-in-Chief of Al Arabiya English, Named Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Middle East Initiative | Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs". www.belfercenter.org. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ "Dr. Courtney C. Radsch Biography" (PDF). Congress.gov. Congress.gov. 9 December 2020.
- ^ "Pranay Gupte : My Career". Pranaygupte.com. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ "Mamdouh AlMuhaini Author Page".
- ^ February 16; 2024. "Riz Khan Sits Down for Interview With Robert F. Kennedy, Jr". Kennedy24. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
{{cite web}}:|last2=has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Riz Khan full interview with Robert F. Kennedy Jr". New Zealand Issues Forum. 2 March 2024. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ "Riz Khan". WSB. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
- ^ Bennett, Chuck (28 July 2012). "Aide to Syrian president asked Charlie Rose for a job while trying to arrange interview with boss". New York Post. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ "Syria Leaks: Al Arabiya English Reports On Assad's PR Firm". Huffington Post. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ "Syrian U.N. envoy claims media 'fabricated lies' about him and his family". Al Arabiya English. 4 August 2012. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ a b Abbas, Faisal J. (3 March 2015). "President Obama, listen to Netanyahu on Iran". Al Arabiya English. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ Fisk, Robert (6 March 2015). "Who can the Saudis trust when they find themselves on Netanyahu's side?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 8 March 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
